Proto Labs (NYSE:PRLB) Reaches New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

Proto Labs, Inc. (NYSE:PRLB)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $41.88 and last traded at $41.88, with a volume of 101 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $41.50.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on PRLB. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Proto Labs in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Craig Hallum lifted their target price on Proto Labs from $30.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. StockNews.com cut shares of Proto Labs from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $40.00 price target on shares of Proto Labs in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $40.33.

Proto Labs Stock Performance

The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $31.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $31.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.15 and a beta of 1.32.

Proto Labs (NYSE:PRLB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The industrial products company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $125.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $121.38 million. Proto Labs had a return on equity of 3.49% and a net margin of 4.76%. Proto Labs’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.31 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Proto Labs, Inc. will post 0.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Proto Labs

In other Proto Labs news, CEO Robert Bodor acquired 3,480 shares of Proto Labs stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $28.68 per share, with a total value of $99,806.40. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 80,878 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,319,581.04. This represents a 4.50 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PRLB. Sei Investments Co. grew its holdings in shares of Proto Labs by 141.7% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 14,311 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $512,000 after purchasing an additional 8,390 shares during the last quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of Proto Labs by 58.3% during the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 11,969 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $397,000 after buying an additional 4,410 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Proto Labs by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,980,157 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $106,541,000 after acquiring an additional 57,894 shares during the last quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Proto Labs during the 1st quarter valued at $312,000. Finally, Shell Asset Management Co. bought a new stake in Proto Labs during the 1st quarter worth $132,000. Institutional investors own 84.54% of the company’s stock.

Proto Labs Company Profile

Proto Labs, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a digital manufacturer of custom parts in the United States and Europe. The company offers injection molding; computer numerical control machining; three-dimensional printing; and sheet metal fabrication products. It serves developers and engineers, who use 3D computer-aided design software to design products across a range of end-markets.